Lacrosse Teams Using the VEPT

Lacrosse Vision Performance Testimonials

Smarter Team Training

Hello! My name is Robert Taylor. I have worked in the strength and conditioning field for over twelve years. I have been fortunate to work with collegiate, professional, and international teams. As the founder and owner of Smarter Team Training, I am continuously looking for cutting edge technology.

In lacrosse, visual skills can affect balance, passing, catching, shooting, and making a save. Games can be won or lost by knocking a pass down, squeaking a pass through a tight skip lane, seeing where a slide is coming from, or being aware of a double pick. All of this happens at full speed and within a blink of an eye. Understanding where the ball is coming from and where it is going takes practice and focus. Goalies focus on how and where the ball leaves the head of the stick on a shot. Being able to pick up the ball while it is in the head of the stick is crucial to making the big save. The ability to see the ball, to get your body in the correct position, and to drive your hands to the ball to make the save can be hampered if the message received by the brain differs from the visual image being seen. The difference between a goalie tipping a ball to have it glance into the back of the net and that goalie making a save that turns into a quick clear and a goal-scoring opportunity is the difference of a fraction of an inch.

Incorporate Vizual Edge training into your year-round preparation to help make your program more comprehensive. For more information on your team’s preparation, check out SMARTERTeamTraining.com. Good luck with your season!

Sue Sofarnos, Australia Lacrosse

As Head Coach of the Australian Women’s Lacrosse Team, I was looking for an edge I could find to better prepare my team to compete in the 2009 World Cup in Prague.

We believed Vizual Edge helped us gain an advantage by varying the training of our Goal Keepers from always being on field & in the goals & risking possible injury. It revealed to them their vizual strengths & weaknesses & helped them improve where needed, which in turn helped them believe they were in the best "shape" of their lives for the World Cup competition.
It was challenging work at first, but the players enjoyed the variety in their training program, & truly believed it helped them see the ball and player movement on field better, which ultimately transferred into improved individual & team performances.

If my budget allowed, I would introduce the Vizual Edge training program to the whole team!

I highly recommend Vizual Edge to any coach who wants to maximize their teams on field performance.

Sue SofarnosHead Coach, Australia Women's Lacrosse

Lacrosse Sports Vision Articles

Vizual Edge - Winning Is In Sight

Vizual Edge - Winning Is In Sight

by: YouthSportsSpot.comYouthSportsSpot.com (10/17/2016)

YouthSportsSpot.com recommends the Vizual Edge program to help kids train in sports.

Research has been scant on correlation between officiating and visual performance; new study shows

Most calls by officials require correct quality of visual information. A critical call might be the difference between winning and losing for a team. Other visually based studies performed on athletes—including tennis, volleyball, and baseball—have shown that superior athletes possess superior skills. Research has shown that these visual skills, besides eyesight, can be measured and trained.

Officials have similar visual demands as athletes. Therefore, officials should have visual skills comparable to athletes. An official needs not only to be physically fit but also visually fit.

There are many examples of officiating calls that require superb visual perception:

Facilities in Europe are incorporating sports vision to help athletes enhance the visual component

Vision performance services offer new area of expansion for ophthalmic practices

by: Dr. Barry L. Seiller, MBAOcular Surgery News (7/29/2013)

Athletes across the globe, whether professional, amateur or recreational, are embracing new technologies and training methods to boost their performance. But while they lift weights, train in wind tunnels, adhere to strict diets and spend countless hours perfecting techniques, they often overlook one crucial body component: their eyes.

Recent studies are definitive: Athletes with superior vision skills perform better on the playing field. Until recently, however, no quantitative, interactive programs existed in the world of vision training. A U.S.-based company, Vizual Edge, is working to revolutionize the vision training game.

The Effect Of Visual Acuity Degradation On The Visual Judgement Of Sport Officials

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of visual acuity degradation on the visual judgment of sport officials. Visual acuity was analyzed by a standard visual acuity wall chart. Visual judgment was determined by a tennis ball line test where subjects have to determine if balls are classified as "in" or "out".

RESULTS: A paired-samples t test was calculated to compare the mean pretest (normal vision) score to the mean posttest (degraded vision) score. The mean on the pretest was 25.73 (sd = 2.16), and the mean on the posttest was 16.91 (sd = 3.22). The results of the paired-samples t test determined a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores (t(21) = 2.69, p < .05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that degrading the visual acuity of sport officials significantly impairs their ability to make correct line calls.

Vizual Edge does meet visual demands for the sport of lacrosse.

Vision Training For Lacrosse Lacrosse Roads of America

by: Lacrosse Playgroundlacrosseplayground.com (7/16/2012)

This past spring our Indiana University Men’s Lacrosse goalies underwent sports vision training, with the help of the Indiana University School of Optometry (IUSO). Sports vision training has been implemented for various professional sports teams, guided by an optometrist who has done a residency in binocular vision therapy. Currently, vision therapy is underutilized at the college and high school level. There are no specific programs that meet the visual demands for the sport of lacrosse. The visual requirements to be a top tier lacrosse goalie could be considered the most demanding in all of sports when you take into consideration shot speed, shot release points (overhand, ¾, sidearm, and low), and shot distance.

Vision training for athletes evolved from reading therapies developed decades ago to help children

A Little Flabby Around the Eyeballs

by: GRETCHEN REYNOLDSNew York Times (2/5/2006)

Vision training for athletes evolved from reading therapies developed decades ago to help children with learning disabilities and people with amblyopia ("lazy eye") concentrate and follow lines of text. Unlike exercises designed to strengthen eye muscles, reading therapy works to improve the eye-brain connection. Sports vision therapy takes it one step further. "It's about eye-hand-foot-body-brain coordination," says Dr. Barry Seiller, an ophthalmologist who is Brett Basanez's vision specialist and the director of the Visual Fitness Institute in Vernon Hills, Ill. "Maybe you foul off the ball a lot, or you have all the technical skills but somehow just can't put it together. You go into slumps. You fail in the clutch. All of that, to us, screams 'visual problems."'